After a long-running tenure on the iconic Vegas strip, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! executed their last perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, famous for its intricate costumes crafted by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to declining audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “stuck in the past”.
Today, almost a decade later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Sparkle
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic showgirl glamour his signature style, clothing everyone from screen legends to music superstars. In a recent auction, a “barely-there” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, seven times its projected value, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with shiny wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“I think it looks more appealing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he explained to a newspaper. “Contemporary performers are embracing a glamorous, more theatrical, attention-grabbing, memorable statement.”
A Musical Comeback
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in 2025 propelled by a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the entertainment titan wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, plumed armbands and glittering headpiece were tailor-made for a record called The Life of a Showgirl.
Swift isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Dua Lipa as they whizzed across concert platforms in sparkles, revealing designs and ostrich feathers, illuminated against theatrical sets. Lipa’s stylist Lorenzo Posocco told a style publication he wanted to bring “a showgirl attitude” to her Radical Optimism tour – inspired by pictures from the 1950s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Pulling from the Past
Modern stars and other successful musicians also take inspiration from classic performances, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are vastly different from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and urban dance moves that were popular earlier.
But some critics are convinced with this showgirl revival. An ex-showgirl, a former Jubilee! showgirl who entertained in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an broad label including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now even today's icons.”
The Highly Sought-After Classic Look
For gen Z and modern stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a style icon gave a nod to one of Mackie’s earliest clients, Cher, when the actress wore a semi-sheer sequined dress designed by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, a singer paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a collection of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke fond memories for a historical elegance,” says an archivist, an expert at the an academic institution, who studies the legacy of showgirls. “Currently it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ allure because it has been adapted. It has got all the sophistication, the sparkles and the glitter but without the bare skin.”
A Than Just Fashion: An Symbol of the City
The expert says showgirls are integral to the iconography of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during public appearances, was accompanied by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still used as an logo of the city, appearing at conventions and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a remaining figure of Las Vegas glamour,” she says.
The Allure of Escape
Hardy says the complete change of a showgirl persona is part of the allure. This idea the singer references in a recent docuseries that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her year-long 2023 Eras tour, which included gruelling preparations, workouts and 149 concerts across multiple nations, each lasting 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “like extreme physical exertion in high heels every night”. Her headpiece weighed 34lbs. “I had to carry it all the way up the steps to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the underground. I had to start early for my cue so I could catch my breath before I performed. One is sweating the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and dreamlike.”
Perhaps this is where the true allure of the showgirl really resides. In the complexity of 2025 there is a craving for fantasy. Who better to emulate than these performers, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where no one makes a mistake.
